Salvum Fac Liberos

Posted on 11 Jan 2022 @ 7:16am by Lieutenant Colonel Cassandra Blackburn

2,761 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Empty Creche
Location: Near Vandor Station
Timeline: ED 6

ON:

Blackburn’s wrist screen on her suit chirped and the feed from the Redemption told her that the cargo door bays of the target ship were open. Once in the troop compartment she raised her visor and glanced at the expectant eight faces of the seated marines in front of her. She felt focused for the first time in months. This was a simple mission with an objective that, for once, wasn’t connected to her personally – as far as she was aware. And also, for once, the objective appeared to be a noble one – get the children back alive. Even she could invest into that goal – she wasn’t a complete monster.

She patched herself into the other shuttle using the wrist screen. “Listen in!” She spoke loudly over the noise of the shuttle and shaking equipment. “No further update to your mission brief – command objective remains to secure the children. There is one female target for capture and no other known humanoid or other organic threat. Expect automated defenses.” She paused as they continued to watch her as she balanced herself against the rapid movement of the shuttle. “Weapons on heavy stun. And for God’s sake, check your arcs of fire. Do not shoot a child.”
With that she closed her visor and perched on the edge of her seat, feeling the suit pressurise around her.

“Ten seconds” Came the call from the flight deck.

The marines moved from their seats to their assault positions at the side of the shuttle’s side hatch. Blackburn stood directly in front of the door, glancing down, and removing the safety on her compression rifle. She felt the shuttle shudder as it penetrated the weak forcefield which retained atmosphere within the cargo bay and shudder again as the skids touched the deck. She flicked her right hand forward and the side doors opened, the marines filing out quickly towards the front and aft of the shuttle, rifles at the firing position. As the last one left, she stepped out, almost casually, walking after them.

“Last out” She said to the flight crew. Her eyes adjusted to the cargo bay where the lighting was dim – she saw the other shuttle had landed towards the side of them and the other section had also filed out tactically. The marines pushed forwards and swept the bay, systematically searching every corner and wall line. They worked their way round to the smaller doors at the other end of the bay. Weapon in hand, Blackburn trotted up to the head of the files of kneeling marines. Here she found the other officer on the mission who had deployed out of the second shuttle.
“Compartment clear Ma’am” the Lieutenant reported. They had been on board for only a matter of seconds.

“Yes, Lieutenant… Lieutenant.” Blackburn replied, briefly forgetting her name. After an awkward moment she turned to a technical sergeant who was kneeling next to them with a combat tricorder.

“Well?” She asked.

“Indeterminate lifesigns. Could be the result of jamming.” He reported. “Atmosphere is nominal in composition and pressure.”

“Mm-mm” Blackburn acknowledged quietly, her mind already working forwards onto the next step. Speed was the key, she had to retain the initiative. “Shuttles stay here to hold the beachhead. One section clears the ship forward, two section goes aft. Let’s go.” She made to stand up for the doors leading to the rest of the ship.

“You’re leading the assault team personally?” Asked the Lieutenant, putting a hand on Blackburn’s arm as she rose. Blackburn glanced at the young woman incredulously and brushed her hand off. She put her rifle in her shoulder and assumed a breaching position next to the door.

“Stupid question, Lieutenant Pownall” Blackburn said. The name had come back to her. “Clock’s ticking” she added, gesturing to the door.

The reminder of the marines formed up behind her as the Sergeant overrode the door. It snapped open quickly and Blackburn found herself in the ship’s dimly lit corridors, moving forwards in a firing stance and scanning down the sights of her weapon. She could feel the presence of the others moving behind quickly and quietly her.

The data feed projected onto her visor was giving her contradictory information as the jamming was limiting her suit’s inbuilt sensors. She pushed down to the next set of doors and took a firing position beyond them to cover the corridor. She heard the marines behind her breach the door and clear the room in seconds to find no-one there. A few moments later she felt a hand on her shoulder, which indicated they were back behind her, and she moved forwards again.

She turned cautiously into a wider corridor with cargo containers lining one side. As she moved quickly forwards, she felt a pulse of light and heat race past her at head height and impact behind her. Realising she was being shot at, she dived behind one of the containers. Adopting a squatting position behind the cover, she looked back and saw a marine on the floor being dragged by two others into the safety of the first corridor. More marines pushed up to replace them as plasma bolts landed amongst them and they sought cover.

“Poor aim” Blackburn said to herself. Looking back, she shouted a fire control order into her intercom to try to supress the shooter. “Section, target to your front, rapid, fire!”. The marines poured fire down the corridor, but the return plasma fire continued unabated.

Sneaking a low peek from behind the containers, Blackburn squinted her eyes against the bright flairs of the vast energy being exchanged down the corridor. After a few moments they adjusted, and she saw the fire coming from automated plasma turret mounted on the ceiling. As she moved her head back into cover, she felt a sudden impact on the side of her helmet, the visor sheering off and spinning away down the corridor, and throwing her head into the side of the container. A glancing shot had shattered her helmet and stunned her, but miraculously hadn’t injured her. The suit’s alarm screamed at her as it lost pressure and she smelt the burning of metal impacted by phaser and plasma fire as the atmosphere of the ship entered her lungs.

Pownall dived through the bolts of energy and backed up against the same container next to the Colonel, who was still trying to recover her senses.

“You okay?” She asked over the noise, glancing at her commander. Blackburn pulled off the remains of her helmet and tossed it aside, shaking her short-cropped hair out as she did so.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” She snapped back loudly, her head still ringing.

“Because you’ve been shot in the head?” Replied the Lieutenant.

“I wish.” Blackburn retorted, back still against the container facing her marines further back who were still pouring fire down the corridor. “Cease fire!” Blackburn yelled to the troops, waving her hands in a cutting motion. “You can’t see the target effectively from there!”. They couldn’t hear her – her communication system was in the destroyed helmet.

"Cease fire” Lieutenant Pownall said into her comms. The phaser fire subsided, but the plasma fire from the turret continued.

“Auto turret?” Pownall asked the Colonel who nodded.

“Not a particular good one. Take it out with a modulation pulse drone” Blackburn ordered.

Pownall acknowledged the Colonel and spoke into her mike again. A few moments later, a marine further back momentarily popped out of cover and threw a small, ball like device into the air, diving back to their original position before the plasma bolts found their target. The small drone deployed in the air, briefly steadied itself, and darted forward towards the turret, swerving to avoid the pulses of plasma fire. The drone swooped under the turret and vanished in a bright pulse of white energy, destroying both itself and the electronics inside the turret. The plasma fire stopped.

“Move forwards!” Backburn shouted, scrambling to her feet out of cover and launching herself up the corridor. The turret had arrested the momentum of the assault as she needed to get it back on track. The marines swept quickly up the corridor to the next junction.

Stopping to catch her breath at the junction as the rest caught up, covering their firing arcs, Blackburn saw Pownall join her again.

“Why are you here?” Blackburn asked the young officer.

“We’ve cleared the aft part of the ship. There was nothing of note apart from a small engineering section. It all appears to be forward of the cargo bay.”

“Fine.” Blackburn replied. She looked around the corner of the corridor junction. “We have two routes here. You go left, I’ll take right. Clear the rest of the ship.”

Pownall nodded and gestured to her section of marines who had stacked up against the walls of the corridor. Blackburn put her rifle back in her shoulder, nodded to the other section which had stacked behind her, and pushed out into the corridor. This one was narrower and she moved quickly, glancing back to see the Lieutenant and her people moving in the opposite direction. The marines cleared the rooms behind her quickly and efficiently as they drove on.

As Blackburn approached the end of the corridor, a dark figure suddenly appeared from a door and she felt another blast of energy as a phaser beam swept past her. The marines behind her returned fire and she suddenly found herself caught in the crossfire without cover. She hurled herself into the frame of a side door in a desperate attempt to find protection but fell through it as it unexpectedly opened, landing awkwardly, and losing her orientation yet again. She scrambled to her knees and as she brought her head up she froze as she found herself in eye to eye contact with a very young child.

She gawked for a few moments as her mind caught up with her situation. Breaking the gaze of the boy stood in front of her – only a few years old, she turned and saw the room had several children in small, clean beds. Those old enough were clutching at sheets and blankets. She shook her head to refocus her mind.

“It’s okay.” She said holding up a gloved hand, feeling stupid and not sure what else to do. She turned to see marines entering the room after her. “Point your weapons down, for heaven’s sake” she said to them.

The technical sergeant approached her as she got to her feet. “The target has retreated into a compartment at the end of the corridor, Ma’am.” He reported.

“Fine, prepare to breach it. We want to capture her if possible” Blackburn said quietly. He nodded, scanning the room with his tricorder.

“I think this is the transporter jammer” He said – indicating a machine at one end of the room.

“Switch it off.” She said looking at the children, her mind still clouded. She shook her head to refocus just as Pownall came into the room, past the marines holding a position at the door.

“The other compartments are clear, it just leaves the one where the target appears contained.” Pownall said, also taking in the sight of the children. “Why are they not crying or making noise? They’re just staring at us.” She said after a pause.

Blackburn pushed that question to the back of her mind. “Muster the kids. Get that transporter block down and prepare to beam them back to the ship” Blackburn said to the technical sergeant who grunted in acknowledgement.

“Come with me” she said to Pownall. The two officers made their way down the corridor to the end, where marines covered the door from firing positions.

“We’ve attempted to communicate but there’s no response” A corporal reported as they arrived.

“Prepare to breach.” Blackburn ordered. The marines began to stack up along the corridor walls next to the door. Checking her rifle again, Blackburn moved to the front of the stack.

“Ma’am, you shouldn’t lead the breach” Pownall said. “And you don’t have head protection”.

“You’ve got a lot to learn about me, haven’t you?” Blackburn said in reply, adopting her breach position. “Get in the line, Lieutenant.” Pownall look as if she was going to argue further, but though better of it and joined the stack next to Blackburn. Blackburn inhaled and prepared to give the order.

“Ma’am!” Yelled the technical sergeant, who came bounding up the corridor.

“What is it?” Blackburn asked, frustrated at the interruption at the critical moment.

“I’m picking up a massive energy build-up in the EPS system! It appears to be some kind of self-destruct programme in progress!” He yelled, breathless.

“Well shut it down!” Blackburn responded, conscious of the faces turning to her.

“I can’t!” He responded.

“What about the transporter block?” Pownall asked quickly.

“We haven’t got time - the system will overload in minutes!”

“Shit!” Blackburn exclaimed. “Well don’t just stand there, get back to the shuttles! Move yourselves!”

The marines ran down the corridor, to the sound of clanking equipment and heavy breathing, as Pownall screamed into her communicator to warn the flight crews. Blackburn brought up the rear, stopping clumsily at the door to the room with the children. Marines laden with children ran out, struggling under the combined weight of the youngsters and their own kit.

“Is that the last one?” She asked a flustered medic.

“Yes, last one.” Came the reply. Glancing briefly behind her, Blackburn followed the retreating marines, passed the scene of the turret battle, and into the cargo bay, where the engines of the shuttles were already warming up.

“Get in, get in!” Yelled a crew chief, literally throwing marines and children through the hatch of his shuttle.

The first shuttle took off just as the last marine stepped on board, moving backwards and turning at the same time. Blackburn ran up behind Pownall just as she boarded the second shuttle.

“Is everyone accounted for?” Blackburn asked the Lieutenant.

“Yes, yes, get on!” Replied Pownall, leaning out and taking Blackburn’s hand as the shuttle lifted from the deck. As she did so, Blackburn glimpsed a section of bulkhead starting to glow white hot on the inside of the cargo bay. She only had a moment to wonder at it, before the young officer pulled the Colonel inboard just as the shuttle rotated and the hatch closed behind her.

“Hold on!” Came a shout from the flight deck as Blackburn fell to her hands and knees on the deck, looking up to see a confusion of marines and youngsters. She felt the tug of the inertial dampeners pushing compensating the hard acceleration of the shuttle as it blasted out of the cargo bay, following the other shuttle and the starfighters who were also withdrawing.
Blackburn struggled to her feet and push her way up to the flight deck. Just as she did so, she was violently thrown off her feet as a shockwave engulfed the shuttle, the energy tossing the light craft about in the vacuum of space.

“It’s ok, we’re ok.” Said the pilot, surprisingly calm, over the sounds of warning alarms. “We’ve made it.”

Blackburn labouredly got to her feet yet again. She felt like she’d spent most of this mission rolling about on the floor. She tapped the pilot on the shoulder in silent appreciation and headed back down into the rear compartment, where she met Pownall.

“I’ve spoken to the other shuttle, Ma’am. We’ve got all the kids.”

“Great.” Blackburn said flatly, thinking about the orders to capture the target. She felt the loom of a coming argument with Barron. “Contact the ship. Tell them they can beam the kids to sickbay from the shuttles. Give them our casualty report, and that the target is KIA. Hang on, correct that. Assumed KIA” The Lieutenant acknowledged and withdrew silently.

Blackburn unclipped her rifle from the sling and put it on a nearby seat, moving away from the others. “Well done, Cassandra.” She said to herself. “Almost got everyone killed again.” She checked her wrist screen. The mission clock had just ticked over ten minutes since landing in the bay. “I suppose at least I got it done in the required ten minutes.”

OFF

Lt Col Cassandra Blackburn
Marine Commanding Officer
USS Redemption

 

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